Cosmic Balance
by jemb
Summary: Booth and Brennan share dinner and discuss a milestone in their partnership. BB friendshipdevelopment


**_So this is just something that came to mind after I watched the pilot episode on DVD the other day. Set somewhere in the vague present/near future. Hopefully you'll think it's a nice BB friendship/fluff piece, because that's what I intended it to be. _**

Temperance Brennan approaches Booth's office with a small smile on her face. She has changed out of her work clothes and into a casual pair of jeans, black top and fitted jacket, accessorised as usual with a chunky pendant necklace and matching earrings; these particular ones brought back from a trip to Africa several years ago. After a long day at the lab with tedious paperwork, the change has her feeling more relaxed, more human. She does, however, carry a little tension in her shoulders as she approaches Booth's office. She doesn't often make this kind of move with him so she is a little nervous.

xxxx

When she reaches Booth's open doorway she sees him behind his desk, head bent in deep concentration, his black tie with white lightening bolts across it loosened, and the top button of his bright white shirt undone, exposing a small area of tanned skin. The five o'clock shadow on his face confirms the lengthy day he has had but to Brennan, he simply looks ruggedly handsome. She knocks gently and watches as his head rises, a surprised look crossing his face when he sees who his unexpected visitor is. Their latest case was closed two days previously so he wasn't really expecting to see or hear from her.

"Hey Bones, what are you doing here?" a small smile creeps over his face as he watches his partner and best friend standing in his doorway, looking beautiful as always. In the muted lighting of the office, her creamy skin seems to glow and her bright blue eyes sparkle.

"I came to see if you wanted to get some dinner." She smiles wider as she walks in, her confidence growing, hands stuffed into her jacket pockets. _That was easier to ask than I thought_ she thinks. Booth glances at the clock on his desk and see it is already 7 in the evening. Time flowed by quickly as he got involved with a few case files he had to update Cullen on. _I'm turning into Bones _he had thought at the point when he realised he had missed lunch because he was working so hard. Booth rubs his grumbling stomach then leans back in his chair, the smile on his face widening.

"I could go for that. Got somewhere in mind?" he asks as he pushes himself out of the chair and pulls his suit jacket off the coat stand near the desk, pulling it on over his slightly wrinkled shirt.

"I thought I'd let you choose." Brennan replies. As Booth looks at her, he senses something is going on. _She's being nice, too nice_.

"Anywhere?" Booth asks, a hopeful look crossing his face. It isn't often that Brennan is so open to dinner destinations. She knows what she likes and she sticks with it.

"Within reason." Brennan grins, knowing if she gives him free reign she might end up at some awful theme restaurant. Brennan watches a now excited Booth pack his things up and switch off the desk lamp, and the tension she was carrying dissipates. _He's so easy to be around_.

xxxx

Twenty minutes later the pair is seated at the diner in a booth near the back and away from prying eyes. There are a thousand restaurants Booth could have chosen but the diner is where they both feel comfortable and the food is pretty good too. Two beers sit on the table, Brennan's hand wrapped around hers, her fingernails chinking against the glass.

"Good day today?" Brennan asks as she lifts her beer to her lips.

"Uh, yeah I guess." Booth replies, a little curious about Brennan's behaviour. Through the slight hint of nervousness in her voice, he gets the feeling that she wants to talk about something but isn't quite ready to bring the subject up. What that something might be though, eludes him.

"Bones, what's going on?" he leans back in the booth and looks at her intently. Usually he can tell what people are thinking or feeling but with Brennan he's never sure quite what's going on in her mind. She's very good at hiding things. Brennan glances down, suddenly finding her fingernails very interesting. She was sure she wanted to do this when she left her lab and went to his office an hour ago but now she is second guessing herself and wonders if maybe this isn't something she should bring up. Booth can be sensitive about certain things and she doesn't want to upset him. They've both been through a lot in the last few months, years even.

"I just thought maybe we should celebrate." Her voice is almost inaudible.

"Celebrate?" Booth clasps his hands together and leans forward, wondering what she wants to celebrate. But before Brennan can elaborate, the waitress arrives, placing their dinner on the table and Booth leans back to make space for his plate.

"Thank you." Brennan flashes the older woman a smile as she looks at the warm Chicken Caesar salad and fries on the table.

"You're welcome sweetheart." The waitress replies before heading off to her next table. The pair at that table are two of her best customers, frequently stopping on for lunch, dinner or just coffee or drinks after work.

"So, what are we celebrating?" Booth asks as he pokes at the fries on his plate with a fork.

"I realised something today." Brennan begins. "I was organising all our old files to move into storage and as I was filing away the Johnson case it occurred to me."

"What did?" Booth has a smile on his face, curiosity and intrigue filling his mind.

"The cosmic balance sheet." She states, lifting her gaze from her grilled chicken to meet his eyes. In them she sees that Booth is thoroughly confused. "After the Cleo Eller case, you told me before you were done in this world, you wanted to catch at least as many murderers as lives you took as a sniper."

"And you offered to help me with that." Booth recalls nostalgically. He'll never forget that moment in the cemetery after the funeral. Brennan had looked quite stunning with her hair swept up and dark make-up on her eyes, highlighting their bright blue colour. And although they had argued a lot before and during that case, he knew right then and there that she would make a great partner.

"Well, Katie Johnson's killer makes forty nine." She immediately lowers her eyes, a little afraid of Booth's reaction. Booth leans back against the cushioned wall, taking a deep breath.

"Forty nine." He sighs, gently nodding his head. "How did you know?" Booth asks, wondering how Brennan found out just how many people he killed as a sniper.

"I have my sources." She mumbles. She can't deny that the number scared her a little. She knows a lot about Booth's past but she doesn't let herself think about it much because he's a different person to who he was back then. Still, knowing how many people he killed, even if they were the enemy, is a little worrying.

"And you thought we should celebrate that?" he asks, his tone not giving away whether he agrees with her or not. Brennan glances up, trying to figure out what he's thinking. His deep brown eyes don't give anything away which is unusual. Suddenly she feels like she's made a big mistake bringing this up and her chest begins to tighten.

"I guess, I mean it seems like a major milestone but if you don't think so, we don't…" Booth cuts her off by reaching across the table and taking her hand, his thumb absentmindedly tracing circles on her warm soft skin.

"I think that it's definitely something worth celebrating." He grins. As quickly as he took her hand, he lets it go, shifting his attention to his steak dinner. "I couldn't have done it without you." He says before stuffing a few fries in his mouth.

"You could have, it would have taken you a _lot_ longer though." She smiles and cuts into her salad.

"And it wouldn't have been half as interesting." He grins cheekily before switching to a serious face. "You know Bones." He puts his fork down and looks into her eyes. "We have our ups and downs and we argue, _a_ _lot_." He raises his eyebrows. "But there's no one else I'd rather be doing this with." He sighs, a playful smile beginning to tug at his lips. "But now that I'm even, I guess I can quit; take that extended vacation to Europe." He says nonchalantly before sipping from his beer bottle.

"What?" Brennan whispers, her body tensing up at the thought of Booth leaving her. She would never admit it to anyone but having worked so closely with Booth for the last two years, the thought of not having him around scares her.

"Relax Bones, I'm just kidding." He says with laughter in his voice. "I'll need a lot more than just a _balanced_ sheet to get up there with the big guy when my time is up." He grins. "You and I have a lot more work to do." Brennan relaxes and leans forward, allowing a smile to cross her face.

"Good. Because I'd hate to have to break in a new agent."

"Like any other agent would stay." Booth scoffs. "You and your squints would scare them off in a matter of days."

"That's hardly fair Booth." Brennan pouts.

"Come on Bones, you _do_ remember how you were when we first started working together." Booth takes a large bite of his burger.

"I only acted that way because you were an egotistical arrogant agent who didn't respect our work." Brennan retorts.

"You said 'were'. Does that mean you don't think I'm arrogant and egotistical now?" Booth grins. Brennan, looking a little flustered, reaches for her beer, taking a long slow drink as she formulates an answer.

"I didn't say you weren't still arrogant and egotistical, you just respect our work now." A sly smile crosses her face.

"That hurts Bones." Booth feigns being hurt by her words. "After everything I've done for you." he shakes his head.

"Didn't ask you to." She replies casually with a shrug, lifting her eyes a little to see his face. She smiles when she sees a sparkle in his eyes.

"No, I guess not. I just…wanted to." He shrugs. "Hey, you want another beer?" he asks, noticing hers is almost empty.

"Sure." She nods as she picks up a fry and dips it in the salad sauce. As Booth signals the waitress, the conversation between Booth and Brennan ceases and they slip into a comfortable silence.

xxxx

With two more beers on the table, dinner continues as other customers come and go, providing background noise. The silence is broken as Booth cracks a joke making Brennan laugh. _I love that I can make her laugh_. Whilst she is distracted, he reaches across the table and attempts to steal some fries from Brennan's plate. She swats his hand away then when he pulls the puppy dog eyes and pout, she offers the plate to him.

"All you had to do was ask." She rolls her eyes. _Sometimes he can be such a kid…but a cute kid._ After eating the fries, Booth wipes his mouth with his napkin and leans forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"Bones."

"Yes?" she glances up from her plate to be met with Booth's intense brown eyes locked onto her, making her feel somewhat intimidated.

"Thanks for this." His voice is low and serious.

"Sure." She shrugs, like it's no big deal.

"No, really." He leans forward. "It means a lot to me that you've been my partner the last two years. I meant what I said earlier. I couldn't have done it without you." Brennan senses this is not a moment to try and make a joke so she leans forward a little and puts on her serious face.

"I'm glad to be your partner too, Booth." She smiles a little. "And I'm glad we're going to keep doing this."

"Dinner?" he jokes, breaking the tension that always seems to build when they talk seriously about something.

"Yes, dinner." She rolls her head to the side and smiles warmly.

"How about desert." Booth leans back and rubs his stomach. "I could really use a piece of pie right now."

"Sounds good." Brennan nods and places her knife and fork gently on her plate. Despite all the bad things that have happened since she started working with Booth, far more good has come out of it and she knows she wouldn't change a moment of it for anything.

**_Please submit a review. I love to get feedback on what you think. _**


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